Zendesk vs. ServiceNow
Help desk software shouldn’t be overly complex. Discover how Zendesk vs. ServiceNow compare and see how you can improve the employee and customer experience.
Zendesk vs. ServiceNow: A comprehensive guide
Senast uppdaterad June 12, 2024
Don’t compromise on finding software that elevates customer service interactions while delighting employees with IT support capabilities and a beautiful interface. These factors can improve the customer experience (CX) and strengthen employee satisfaction. If you’re looking for great help desk tools that keep costs low and a responsive agent interface with an intuitive layout, look no further than Zendesk.
Customers prefer Zendesk over ServiceNow because we offer fast time to value, easy implementation, and a robust toolset of help desk features that are ready to go without any additional configurations. These are just a few areas where Zendesk outperforms ServiceNow. Read on to learn more about why ServiceNow fails to keep pace with our offerings.
![3 ways Zendesk outperforms ServiceNow](https://d1eipm3vz40hy0.cloudfront.net/images/AMER/zendeskvsservicenow11.gif)
Agility and fast time to value
With Zendesk, you can get up and running quickly, onboard agents in record time, and adapt faster to change with our easy-to-use interface. On the other hand, ServiceNow can be complex and slow to set up and make changes to, according to several user views on G2.
Strategic partnership and support
While ServiceNow has standard support offerings, Zendesk offers an exclusive community of experts and thought leaders to strengthen your business strategy, share best practices, and grow your network. We also provide designated account management to guide you at every step.
Lower total cost of ownership (TCO)
Zendesk offers an excellent TCO with low implementation and administrative costs—employees can pick it up within hours. ServiceNow requires a substantial three-day training course and recommends six months of prerequisites for all potential administrators whose salaries average six figures.
More in this guide
- At-a-glance comparison: Zendesk vs. ServiceNow
- Zendesk vs. ServiceNow: Features comparisons
- Pricing plans: ServiceNow vs. Zendesk
- Customer stories on using Zendesk vs. ServiceNow
- Frequently asked questions
- Ready to try Zendesk?
At-a-glance comparison: Zendesk vs. ServiceNow
Here’s a quick look at the capabilities of Zendesk and ServiceNow’s help desk software. We based all findings on customer feedback and extensive research.
What’s needed to deliver the best support | Critical capabilities | Zendesk | ServiceNow |
---|---|---|---|
Reviews and ratings |
User reviews and accolades |
| |
Analyst rating |
Leader for customer service |
Leader for ITSM | |
Ease of deployment |
Fast time to value |
Weeks to months (90% of customers deploy in 8 weeks or less) |
6–12 months (at a minimum) |
Level of assistance |
Product is intuitive to self-implement; professional services assistance is available |
Heavy consulting engagements | |
ROI |
High with low implementation efforts and a focus on best practices for operational change management |
Limited due to high implementation efforts | |
TCO and agility |
Implementation costs |
Low |
High (3x–4x year one license cost) |
Maintenance costs |
Low |
High (minimum 2 developer resources) | |
Speed to make changes |
Fast |
Slow | |
Knowledge required |
None |
Database architecture, scripting, ITIL (for ITSM) | |
Customer experience |
Native channel breadth |
All channels natively (voice, SMS, chat, messaging, web form, email) |
No native voice or SMS; basic asynchronous chat |
Social channel coverage |
15+ native social messaging integrations |
No native social integrations | |
Omnichannel widget |
Yes |
No | |
Chat and messaging experience |
Embedded into the browser experience |
Separate browser window | |
Agent interface |
Omnichannel integration |
All channels automatically create tickets |
Required to manually create tickets from chat |
Real-time experience |
Yes |
No | |
Tailored agent experience |
Contextual, dynamic, and customizable agent workspace |
Static interface with set information frames | |
Macros |
Yes |
No | |
Intuitive layout |
Yes |
Clunky | |
Robust integrations |
Integrated tools |
1000+ apps in the Zendesk Marketplace |
Limited integrations in marketplace |
Jira integration |
Yes |
Limited | |
Salesforce integration |
Yes |
Limited | |
Native Slack integration |
Yes |
No | |
Employee experience (IT, HR, internal use cases) |
Incident management |
Yes |
Yes |
Problem management |
Yes |
Yes | |
Change management |
Yes |
Yes | |
NPS surveys |
Yes |
No | |
Asset management |
Integrations available |
Yes | |
Configuration management database |
Integrations available |
Yes | |
Service catalog |
Yes |
Yes | |
Reporting and analytics |
Custom reports |
Yes |
Yes |
Custom dashboards |
Yes |
Yes | |
Custom attribution |
Yes |
Yes | |
Custom metrics |
Yes |
Yes | |
Real-time reporting |
Yes |
Yes | |
Easy to implement |
Yes |
No | |
AI |
Pre-trained CX data models |
Yes, based on data points from real service interactions |
No, limited pre-trained CX data models |
Simple setup |
Yes |
No | |
Security |
Granular permissions |
Yes |
Yes |
Audit trails |
Yes |
Yes | |
Data redaction |
Yes |
Yes | |
SSO |
Yes |
Yes | |
PCI |
Yes |
Yes | |
Fedramp |
Yes |
Yes | |
HIPAA enabled |
Yes |
Add-on (requires NOW platform | |
Encryption at REST |
Yes |
Yes | |
Data locality |
Yes |
Yes | |
Knowledge management |
Robust help center |
Yes |
Yes |
Self-service analytics |
Yes |
Yes | |
Intelligent content gap identification |
Yes |
No |
Zendesk vs. ServiceNow: Features comparison
Both vendors offer customer service and IT support software, but let’s look at the facts to determine which is the best.
Pricing plans: ServiceNow vs. Zendesk
Below, you can find information about pricing for Zendesk support software. Unfortunately, ServiceNow does not make its prices publicly available and requires customers to create an account before speaking with a representative.
Zendesk | ServiceNow |
---|---|
*All plans are billed annually |
|
While pricing plans are unavailable, it’s important to note that ServiceNow’s pricing does come with high implementation costs and requires a significant amount of dedicated administrative resources. For instance, to hire one full-time administrator, most businesses will pay between $52K and $95K annually.
And considering implementation can take longer, businesses should expect a higher overall TCO and a slower time to value.
Customer stories
![Customer stories](https://d1eipm3vz40hy0.cloudfront.net/images/AMER/zendeskvsservicenow33.jpg)
Learn why so many customers choose Zendesk over our competitors.
Frequently asked questions
Keep reading for answers to the questions prospects ask most often when comparing Zendesk and ServiceNow.
Is Zendesk better than ServiceNow?
Yes. Unlike ServiceNow, Zendesk focuses on CX, making us the best choice for customer-first companies. Zendesk is also a great option for IT support teams needing straightforward and customizable software. Leading brands like Grubhub and Shopify use Zendesk for both internal and external support.
Is Zendesk similar to ServiceNow?
Zendesk and ServiceNow have some similar use cases, but they are fundamentally different.
For example, Zendesk is known for having a better user experience and being easier and faster to configure, which translates to a lower overall TCO. Zendesk offers everything you need to deliver a great customer experience out-of-the-box and can be easily customized for IT support.
ServiceNow is also customizable but requires a significant investment in developers and technical resources to implement and maintain.
Is Zendesk an ITSM tool?
Zendesk is a popular and great tool for IT support used by thousands of companies, some of which include:
And with a rich marketplace of out-of-the-box integrations, Zendesk takes the complexity out of IT service management.
Does Zendesk compete with ServiceNow?
Yes, Zendesk competes with ServiceNow because both companies offer service tools for customers and employees. However, Zendesk is a stronger solution because it’s user-friendly, with a modern interface and speedy deployment. Plus, with out-of-the-box functionality, our tools are easy to implement.
Is Zendesk ITIL compliant?
Businesses can build their own holistic and flexible ITSM solution with Zendesk via partner integrations. Zendesk offers integrations with systems like Jira, Oomitza, and EZOfficeInventory to foster a simple, reliable, and intuitive ITSM solution.
Businesses can implement ITIL best practices without unnecessary complexity, manage risk, improve standardization, and gain insight into key processes to create better alignment across teams. Overall, Zendesk is easy to use, quick to implement, and flexible enough to meet your specific needs.
Ready to try Zendesk?
Experiment with a powerhouse tool for customer service and internal support and discover the lasting impact it can have on business outcomes and customer satisfaction. Sign up for your free trial of Zendesk today.
Compare Zendesk with other competitors
Learn how Zendesk stacks up against the competition with these additional guides and resources.